For sometime, I’ve wanted to write a URL Shortener. I need a little help getting started and I think ChatGPT can provide the direction I need.
Because I also want to keep a Coding Journal, I should probably take a stab at solving my problem first before I ask ChatGPT or Bard to lay out a roadmap for me. I believe stating, in plain language, what I will want a script to do will help me understand the discrete steps that need to be taken.
I will then compare what I think needs to be done with what ChatGPT suggests and lookup what I don’t understand in Flavio Copes PHP Handbook – Learn PHP for Beginners on FreeCodeCamp.com.
I want to create a URL Shortener.
So, in plain words, what should my URL Shortener do?
- The script should take a URL and create a shortened version of it,
- storing both the original URL and the shortened version.
- When the short URL is used, somehow, magically, some kind of lookup must be done
- to figure out what the short url stands for.
- I would also like the script to count the number of times a url shortener has been used.
- I think I’ll need a text file to read and write to.
I queried ChatGPT for a starting point. At this point, I will learn what ChatGPT’s code instructions mean by reading Flavio
What follows below is ChatGPT‘s response to my query: what are the steps to create a url shortener in php?
ChatGPT-Generated URL Shortener Roadmap
Here are the general steps to create a URL shortener in PHP:
- Create a MySQL database to store the original and shortened URLs.
- Create a PHP script to generate a shortened URL based on the original URL.
- Write a PHP script to insert the original and shortened URLs into the MySQL database.
- Create a PHP script to redirect the shortened URL to the original URL.
- Create a web form where users can enter the original URL and get the shortened URL.
Here’s an example of how you can implement each step:
Step 1: Create a MySQL database to store the original and shortened URLs.
You can use phpMyAdmin or any other database management tool to create a database. Here’s an example SQL query to create a table to store the original and shortened URLs:
CREATE TABLE urls (
id INT(11) NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
original_url VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
short_url VARCHAR(20) NOT NULL
);Step 2: Create a PHP script to generate a shortened URL based on the original URL.
Here’s an example PHP function to generate a shortened URL:
function generateShortURL($originalURL) {
$chars = "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789";
$shortURL = "";
for ($i = 0; $i < 7; $i++) {
$randNum = rand(0, strlen($chars)-1);
$shortURL .= $chars[$randNum];
}
return $shortURL;
}This function generates a random string of 7 characters that can be used as a shortened URL.
Step 3: Write a PHP script to insert the original and shortened URLs into the MySQL database.
Here’s an example PHP function to insert the original and shortened URLs into the MySQL database:
function insertURL($originalURL, $shortURL) {
$conn = mysqli_connect("localhost", "username", "password", "dbname");
$sql = "INSERT INTO urls (original_url, short_url) VALUES ('$originalURL', '$shortURL')";
mysqli_query($conn, $sql);
mysqli_close($conn);
}This function uses the mysqli extension to connect to the MySQL database and insert the original and shortened URLs into the urls table.
Step 4: Create a PHP script to redirect the shortened URL to the original URL.
Here’s an example PHP script to redirect the shortened URL to the original URL:
$shortURL = $_GET['url'];
$conn = mysqli_connect("localhost", "username", "password", "dbname");
$sql = "SELECT original_url FROM urls WHERE short_url='$shortURL'";
$result = mysqli_query($conn, $sql);
$row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result);
mysqli_close($conn);
header("Location: ".$row['original_url']);
exit();This script retrieves the original URL associated with the shortened URL from the urls table and uses the header() function to redirect the user to the original URL.
Step 5: Create a web form where users can enter the original URL and get the shortened URL.
Here’s an example HTML form to allow users to enter a URL and get a shortened URL:
<form action="shorten.php" method="post">
<label for="url">Enter a URL:</label>
<input type="text" name="url" id="url">
<input type="submit" value="Shorten URL">
</form>This form submits the original URL to a PHP script called shorten.php that generates a shortened URL and inserts the original and shortened URLs into the MySQL database. The script then displays the shortened URL to the user.